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WrestleMania 32
WrestleMania 32 was the thirty-second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE. It took place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Twelve matches were contested at the event (including three matches on the pre-show). Four matches were particularly considered to be the marquee attractions. In the main event, Roman Reigns defeated Triple H to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, while Shane McMahon (in his first match since 2009) lost to The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match, Brock Lesnar defeated Dean Ambrose in a No Holds Barred Street Fight, and Charlotte won the newly instated WWE Women's Championship (which replaced the retired Divas Championship) in a triple threat match over Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. The event was also notable for having the shortest WrestleMania match ever, when The Rock beat Erick Rowan, in an impromptu match, the unannounced appearance of John Cena, and the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which included the surprise participation of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal and was won by NXT call-up Baron Corbin in his main roster debut. According to WWE, WrestleMania 32 set multiple records for the company; including grossing $17.3 million and a claimed attendance record of 101,763. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer disputed WWE's attendance figure, claiming an attendance of 93,730 which still would have been a WWE record. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon later admitted the attendance record "wasn't 101,000 paid" as it included "ushers and ticket takers and all of that". Despite its commercial success, critics gave mixed reviews for WrestleMania 32 and rated it worse than the NXT TakeOver: Dallas event WWE held two days prior. The main event title match drew criticism and also resulted in negative and angry crowd reactions. Production Background WrestleMania is considered WWE's flagship event, having been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment. The event was the third WrestleMania to be held in the state of Texas, after 2001 and 2009, and the first to take place in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area. The ticket sales went on dated on November 6, 2015, with individual tickets costing $18 to $2,360. On October 13, 2015, traveling packages with accommodation ranging from $575 to $6,625 per person were sold. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that WrestleMania 32 has broken the WWE's record for most tickets sold with at least 84,000 tickets sold. Forbes speculated that WrestleMania 32 could break the WWE attendance record of 93,173 set at WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. This record stood as the highest attendance for any indoor event until the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, also held at AT&T Stadium, drew 108,713. However, Dave Meltzer reported that the actual WWE attendance record before WrestleMania 32 was the 1992 SummerSlam's 79,127, and that WrestleMania III's actual attendance was around 78,000. The five official theme songs for the event were "My House" (by Flo Rida), "Hello Friday" (by Flo Rida featuring Jason Derulo), "Hail to the King" (by Avenged Sevenfold), "Sympathy for the Devil" (by Motörhead), and "Oh No" (by Goodbye June). On March 21, 2016, it was announced that the American girl group Fifth Harmony would be performing "America the Beautiful" during the WrestleMania pre-show. WWE had been hobbled by real-life injuries to the wrestlers on its roster, rendering them unable to wrestle at WrestleMania 32. The injured list at the time included John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Cesaro, Neville, and Luke Harper. Meanwhile, Sting, Nikki Bella, and Tyson Kidd suffered neck injuries, with Kidd barely avoiding paralysis or death and Sting being forced to retire. Daniel Bryan was also forced to retire due to severe concussions. David Shoemaker, writing for ESPN, described that "it seems as if the talent left off the match lineup could sell more tickets than the one currently on it." Shoemaker also theorized possible reasons for injuries being firstly "WWE's grueling schedule", and secondly "the travel, the exhaustion, the lack of an offseason". In March 2016, CNET wrote that WrestleMania 32 would see the culmination of "the biggest story in WWE", which is "establishing Roman Reigns as the top babyface". WWE's attempts to get Reigns the "level of recognition" of name like Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and John Cena met its "toughest opponent" in the wrestling audience which started a "fan rebellion" in opposition to WWE's support of Reigns, with fans preferring Dean Ambrose instead. COED agreed that Reigns, whom WWE thought "has the most star power and wide-spread appeal", was "being feverishly rejected" with boos by WWE's audience. To combat this trend, WWE has taken measures including muting booing crowds and piping in canned cheers during Reigns' appearances in 2016. The A.V. Club commented that "WWE has a serious Roman Reigns problem", due to "basically nobody wanting to see Roman Reigns in the main event" of WrestleMania Storylines The card included twelve matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown. The storylines leading into WrestleMania 32 were not received well by critics. Jason Powell of Pro Wrestling Dot Net lamented that "the build to WrestleMania has been a creative mess", and that WWE's injury-hit roster does not excuse "sloppy booking or storylines with massive holes and logic gaps". Jeff Hamlin of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter criticized, "There is no momentum for WrestleMania at all. The event sells itself purely on its brand name". Ben Tucker of Pro Wrestling Torch wrote, "Not since WrestleMania 13 has WWE's Super Bowl come together in such a bizarre fashion, with WWE making some of the most head-scratching decisions I've seen in ages". Kyle Fowle of The A.V. Club declared that WWE's "ship is headed straight for the rocks", and in particular "the WWE World Heavyweight Championship feud is a disaster". At Survivor Series, Roman Reigns won the tournament for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Reigns had earlier refused offers by Triple H to join The Authority, which would have automatically placed him in the tournament finals, but Reigns fought in the whole tournament and after his victory, he speared Triple H, who tried to congratulate him. Sheamus then cashed in his Money in the Bank contract after a Brogue Kick and won the title. At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs Reigns faced Sheamus but lost when Alberto Del Rio and Rusev interfered. Post-match, Reigns attacked Sheamus, Del Rio, Rusev, and then Triple H with a chair. The next night on the December 14 episode of Raw, Reigns defeated Sheamus in a title vs. career match. However, Reigns lost the tile in the annual 30-man Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble, where Triple H returned as the #30 entrant, eliminating Reigns en route to winning the title. At Fastlane Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar in a triple threat match to face Triple H for the title at Wrestlemania. The following night on Raw, Triple H attacked Reigns during the latter's match against Sheamus and beat a bloodied Reigns and executed a Pedigree on Reigns onto the steel steps. However, Reigns returned on March 14 and assaulted Triple H. On the February 22 episode of Raw, Mr. McMahon presented the "Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence" Award to his daughter Stephanie McMahon. As Stephanie was about to do the acceptance speech about the award given to her, Shane McMahon returned to WWE for the first time since 2009, to confront his father and sister in regards to his role in the company. Vince then made a deal with Shane that he would gain control of Raw if he could win a match of his choosing but would relinquish a lockbox of Vince's secrets if he lost. After Shane accepted, Vince named The Undertaker as his opponent and made the match a Hell in a Cell match; Shane's last match was in May 2009. The following week, Undertaker returned to Raw and said that Shane's blood would be on Vince's hands, not his. Vince stated that if The Undertaker did not win, it would be his last WrestleMania. During the triple threat match at Fastlane, Brock Lesnar had Roman Reigns in the kimura lock submission hold, and at last minute, Dean Ambrose hit Lesnar with a chair; this incapacitated Lesnar long enough for Reigns to beat Ambrose. The next day before Raw aired, Lesnar attacked Ambrose and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. On Raw, Paul Heyman issued a challenge to anyone on the roster to face Lesnar at WrestleMania. Ambrose returned in the ambulance to challenge Lesnar to a No Holds Barred Street Fight; Heyman accepted on Lesnar's behalf. On the March 14 episode of Raw, hardcore legend Mick Foley gave Ambrose his signature barbed wire baseball bat. The next week on Raw, another hardcore legend, Terry Funk, gave Ambrose a chainsaw. After defeating Becky Lynch controversially at the Royal Rumble to retain her WWE Divas Championship, Charlotte was ambushed by a returning Sasha Banks. On the February 29 episode of Raw, Lynch and Banks fought in a No. 1 Contender's match, but the match ended in a double pin. A rematch on the next episode of SmackDown ended in a no contest when Charlotte attacked both women. Subsequently, Charlotte was scheduled to defend her title against both ladies in a triple threat match at WrestleMania. On the WrestleMania kickoff pre-show, WWE Hall of Famer Lita said that the Divas Championship would be retired and that the winner of the triple threat match would be crowned the new WWE Women's Champion. On the February 8 episode of Raw, after defeating The New Day and Mark Henry in a tag team tables match, The Dudley Boyz turned heel and betrayed their teammates The Usos. Explaining that they did not come back to WWE to be a "nostalgia act" and reminding the fans that they are "the baddest tag team on the planet", The Dudley Boyz abandoned using their trademark tables. In the following weeks, The Usos saved wrestlers from post-match beatdowns by The Dudley Boyz, setting up a tag team match between the two teams for the event. The match was later moved to the WrestleMania 32 Kickoff pre-show. During the Cutting Edge Peep Show at Fastlane, WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day showed signs of a face turn by mocking The League of Nations. Over the next few weeks, The New Day continued to mock The League of Nations in backstage segments. At Roadblock, The New Day retained the WWE Tag Team Championship against League of Nations members Sheamus and King Barrett. The New Day then defeated fellow League of Nations members Alberto Del Rio and Rusev the following night on Raw to retain the championship, causing The League of Nations to attack The New Day during the post-match and turning The New Day face, leading to a six-man tag team match between Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and Rusev and The New Day at WrestleMania. After walking out on Big Show and Kane during their six-man tag team rematch against The Wyatt Family, causing them to lose, on the February 22 episode of Raw, Ryback became more aggressive by defeating his opponents in squash matches. On March 14 episode of Raw, after defeating Sin Cara, Ryback challenged United States Champion Kalisto to a match for the United States Championship at WrestleMania, which Kalisto accepted two days later in an interview with Michael Cole. The match was later moved to the WrestleMania 32 Kickoff pre-show. After weeks of feuding between each other, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, and Sami Zayn confronted Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens on the March 21 episode of Raw and challenged him for the title. Owens agreed to talk to The Authority about setting up a #1 contender triple threat match for a shot at his title, but the match instead included Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, and Stardust. Miz, Ziggler and Zayn all interfered in the match, which ended in no contest. Stephanie McMahon then set up a ladder match for the title at WrestleMania, with Owens defending the title against all six competitors. After AJ Styles defeated Chris Jericho at Fastlane, both men in respect and formed a tag team known as "Y2AJ" and dominated the tag team division by defeating champions The New Day in two consecutive matches, leading to Y2AJ challenging them to a match for the WWE Tag Team Championship. However, Y2AJ failed to win the championship against The New Day on March 7 episode of Raw after Jericho was pinned by Big E. After the match, Jericho attacked Styles with three Codebreakers, turning heel in the process. Jericho stated that he was tired of the fans chanting for Styles and not him. Styles then challenged Jericho to a match at WrestleMania which Jericho refused, stating he would rather sit with the crowd at WrestleMania rather than face him. On the March 28 episode of Raw, during Jericho's match with Zack Ryder, Styles distracted Jericho, causing Ryder to beat Jericho. Then, Jericho accepted Styles's challenge. On the March 14 episode of Raw, Lana allied with Team B.A.D. (Naomi and Tamina) by helping them defeat Brie Bella and Alicia Fox. Lana then attacked Paige after the latter's victory over Summer Rae two days later on Main Event. On the following episode of Main Event, during a match between Paige and Naomi, Rae and Emma attacked Fox and Natalya (in Paige's corner at ringside), allowing Naomi to win. On the March 28 episode of Raw, Emma (accompanied by Naomi, Tamina, Lana and Rae) defeated Paige (accompanied by Brie, Fox and Natalya). Following the match, Eva Marie allied with Brie, Paige, Fox and Natalya. Subsequently, a 10-Diva tag team match between the two teams was scheduled for the WrestleMania 32 Kickoff pre-show. Aftermath Despite Shane McMahon failing to gain control of Raw with a loss to the Undertaker at WrestleMania 32, he was awarded control of the next four episodes of Raw anyway post-WrestleMania. The post-WrestleMania Raw on April 4 began with Vince McMahon dismissing the crowd as crazy, and bragging how no one had a hold on him since he received the lockbox. Shane McMahon interrupted for a handshake with Vince, then thanked fans. Jealous of Shane supposedly upstaging him with strong fan support, Vince allowed Shane to run Raw that night, as Vince (thinking that Shane would produce a "disaster") wanted to show the world how "ridiculous" it would be. Shane was then allowed to continue controlling Raw until the Payback pay-per-view "due to the overwhelming support of the WWE Universe on social media". Also on the post-WrestleMania Raw, where commentators described the crowd as booing those they should cheer, and cheering those they should boo, new world champion Roman Reigns (repeatedly and heavily booed) declared he was now "the guy" and was ready for title contenders. Four men answered the challenge: Chris Jericho, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn. The four brawled, ultimately leaving Jericho in the ring, where Reigns attacked him. Shane McMahon then arranged a fatal four-way match between the four to determine the next world title contender. After Owens attacked Zayn backstage with a powerbomb through a table, Zayn was unable to compete, so Shane replaced him with a returning Cesaro in the four-way match. Styles pinned Jericho to win and become number one contender. Meanwhile, Zack Ryder's reign as the new Intercontinental Champion lasted just one day. On the post-WrestleMania Raw, Ryder was goaded into defending his title against the Miz. During the match, Ryder's father was slapped by Miz's wife, Maryse, in her return to WWE television. This distraction cost Ryder the match and the title. A ceremony presenting Charlotte with the new WWE Women's Championship occurred on the post-WrestleMania Raw, with WWE Hall of Famer Lita and many of WWE's female wrestlers present in the ring. After Charlotte thanked her father, Ric Flair, and began bragging about her own success, most of the women left the ceremony, leaving Natalya to confront Charlotte and apply her signature Sharpshooter submission. The post-WrestleMania episode of Raw included Raw debuts of Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Enzo Amore, and Colin Cassady. Corbin fought Dolph Ziggler to a double count-out, then laid Ziggler out post-match. Meanwhile, Crews defeated Tyler Breeze. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady debuted by confronting the Dudley Boyz, who had just defeated the Usos in WrestleMania rematch, albeit in a tables match. The New Day defended their WWE Tag Team Championship against Sheamus and King Barrett of The League of Nations. The New Day retained the titles after Kingston gained the pinfall over Barrett. Angered by the loss, the group turned on Barrett, labelling him the group's "weakest link", but were subsequently attacked by The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Braun Strowman). On April 11 episode of Raw, Shane McMahon announced a tag team tournament to decide the number one contender to The New Day's Tag Team Championships. The Dudley Boyz advanced by defeating The Lucha Dragons while The Usos defeated The Social Outcasts to advance. After the match, The Usos were attacked by the returning Luke Gallows and the debuting Karl Anderson who are recognized as two members of the Bullet Club stable in Japan. After helping Total Divas win their match at WrestleMania, Brie Bella announced that she was taking an extended break from wrestling on April 6, 2016, so that she could focus on starting a family with her retired husband Daniel Bryan. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that post-WrestleMania, Roman Reigns became more "reactive" against hostile crowds when "a camera isn't there to capture it", this included "yelling back and swearing at the vocal ringsiders". This was contrasted with John Cena, who "would laugh and smile at people who booed him." Reigns was again booed at the next pay-per-view, Payback, where he again won in the main event. As soon as broadcasting for that event stopped, Reigns reportedly turned on the crowd, yelling angrily at them. Meanwhile, WWE continued to try to hide the hostile reaction to Reigns, editing a fan sign for a photo on WWE.com for Payback's main event to remove a quote that Reigns "bores". Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * WrestleMania Category:WrestleMania Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2016 Pay-Per-View Events